Perceptions of Neighborhood Social Control & Parent to Child Physical Aggression

About the Talk

Although previous research emphasizes the role of neighborhoods in the etiology of parent to child aggression, less is known about the underlying mechanism responsible for this relationship. Focusing on parents' perceptions of neighborhood collective efficacy, we test the hypotheses that parent's perceptions of cohesion and informal control (1) are shaped by the environment and (2) reduce the probability of parental violent practices with their children. Using data from the three waves of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhood, results from a series of Multilevel Models reveal two important findings: first, neighborhood collective efficacy shapes parents' perceptions of cohesion and informal social control in the neighborhood. And second, parents' perception of collective efficacy in the neighborhood reduces the probability of PCPA by more than 15%. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

About the Speaker

David Maimon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the Ohio State University in 2009. David’s research interests include theories of human behaviors, community and crime, and quantitative methods. His current research focuses on the consequences of community social disorganization on behavioral and psychological outcomes (underage drinking, suicide and crime), Cracking and Cyber Crime time use and the life course, and multilevel statistical models.

About the Talk

I will discuss two analyses of ethnographic data from the South Side of Chicago. In the first study, we examine low-income mothers' daily routines for work, care, and transportation using data from the Welfare, Children, and Families Three City Study. In the second study, life history interviews provide insight into barriers to low-income fathers' physical mobility to seek jobs, to attend school, and to care for children. For each study I will address how data was collected in local settings, and how this data both constituted and informed interpretation of findings.

About the Speaker

Kevin Roy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland. He received his Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University in 1999. Professor Roy’s research focuses on the life course of men on the margins of families and the work force. Through a mix of participant observation and life history interviews, he has explored the intersection of policy systems, such as welfare reform and incarceration, with parents' caregiving and providing roles. Recently-funded research includes an examination of transition to adulthood for young men disconnected from school and work, and a comparison of low-income fathering for young adults in South Africa and the United States. He is the co-author (with William Marsiglio) of a forthcoming book in the Russell Sage Foundation ASA Rose series on fatherhood and social policy, with an focus on initiatives that promote men’s nurturance of children.